Hajime isn’t in anything this season so obviously everything is going to be terrible and I’m not going to like any of it.

I also watched Gingitsune but it wasn’t really my kind of show. If I hear about a good romantic subplot or something later on, maybe I’ll pick it up again. I also tried White Album 2 because someone hyped it up and it was actually really enjoyable! It’s not the type of show I normally enjoy but knowing it doesn’t just take place in high school is a big plus.

Diabolik Lovers

This was terrible and I don’t understand how anybody could find ANY of these guys desirable and not 100% creepy scumbags. But hey, people think they’re just tops and isn’t that the weirdest thing.

Kyoukai no Kanata

This will probably be one of the bigger titles this season after Kill la Kill. With good reason maybe? The first episode was pretty decent. It looked pretty, as expected but otherwise… it was really Chuu2Koi-ish. Only without the chuunibyou. It made me laugh a bit but Mirai is just Rikka with actual powers and Akihito is just Yuuta but immortal. The only problem? I don’t like the black haired girl so she can’t be Nibutani. She doesn’t deserve to bee Nibutani.

Otherwise I’m actually really reminded of RDG and I kind of expect it to take a path similar to that. So, a mixture of RDG and Chuu2koi. Huh. Maybe my expectations aren’t that high after all.

There does seem to be some mystery and intrigue going on though so my interest is there. Plus, we might get some really neat looking battles. I’m just not expecting something that’ll surprise me and be super amazing. At least the ED was pretty nice.

Coppelion

This feels like this really, truly belongs in the very early 2000s. The artstyle and story all fit in line with something from years ago.

Well, the artstyle is weird. We’ve got these 90s-esque schoolgirls drawn with very thick borderlines that stand out A LOT from the really nice, detailed background. They both just seem so weird together.

I wish there would have been an OP or something to give us a better idea of what the show was about. I just can’t imagine this continuing for 13 episodes. The end makes it seem like Taeko might be injured or even dead and that would be a neat twist except the ED shows here and the dog and she’s alright in the preview so whoops. There goes the suspense.

I can’t say I really see myself continuing this. I’m a bit curious about where it goes but since the manga is probably ongoing, I can’t see any resolution happening and it seems like it would end up a huge waste of time.

Kill la Kill

Move aside everyone, the only important show of the fall season is here.

If ever there existed a show that EMBODIED the phrase “rad as hell” I think this one would be just about it. It oozes coolness and energy and fun? Yeah, I guess it’s pretty fun. Mako’s fun. I really liked Mako.

Well I like Ryuuko too but Mako was adorable. Not that Ryuuko being embarrassed about her revealing outfit wasn’t charming as well. She’s actually a pretty cool protag though. Satsuki? A pretty cool antagonist with a really cool outfit. The whole show is real cool, okay?

I am disappointed though since this whole time I’ve been under the impression that dear, dear Taku Iwasaki was doing the music but alas, that wasn’t the case. Why did I think it was this whole time? I coulda swore there was a PV that listed him. It’s actually Hiroyuki Sawano. Which is funny because listening to the soundtrack, it did remind me of him. Then the vocal track in their fight happened and that def wasn’t something Iwasaki like. Sawano just did the fantastic OST of Attack on Titan (to be clear I’m calling the soundtrack that, not the show) so maybe it’ll end up being awesome. Not as awesome as if Iwasaki was doing it but hey. We still have the wonderful Gatchaman Crowds soundtrack and that’s pretty great, right?

So yeah I’m totally excited about this show and I feel bad for doubting it. It’s just watching it, you can get really easily swept up in it and see how cool (how many times have I used that word now?) and fun it is but afterwards… I feel like I’ll feel empty about it. Like yeah, sure it’s got style but how much substance does it have? Will I remember it for anything other than nice animation and cool fights? I know I’m not getting another TTGL and for me, there’ll never be anything quite like TTGL.

But maybe there will be some unexpected heart here. Maybe something will happen that’ll make me remember this, something to make it not just a one trick pony.

Golden Time

All I knew beforehand was that somebody involved with Toradora worked on this and so I wasn’t really going to care about it probably. I didn’t really like Toradora and I get the impression I won’t like this. If it was straight romantic comedy without harem elements, I might remain interested. But there are those other girls and why waste your time? Really? Why? Why bother at all. They don’t even appear in the OP and ED and if the OP is any indication, Koko has won from the start.

Which is kind of the interesting thing. Since it’ll be awhile before she’s not hooked on Mitsuo and then how will he feel about the girl who has been chasing him for years going after his friend? What causes this change? So I do see something interesting, I guess.

The one thing I can give Toradora credit for is that it ended. It ended kinda properly. The couple got together, everybody was more or less satisfied. Since it seems like the novel is still ongoing, I don’t think this will have such a resolute ending. It is like 24 episodes but to me that seems like it’ll be half of the series pissing around with other girls and love triangle before Koko and Banri actually get together or whatever.

I’ll give it another shot though. Maybe the next episode will impress me more or at least give me a reason to trudge through 22 more episodes of it.

Nagi no Asukara

Surprise of the season? Well for me, yeah. I expected to hate this. Despite watching Another and RDG, I can’t say I particularly like anything P.A Works has done. RDG being the closest thing, I guess. They’re always melodramatic, slowly paced shows that don’t really do anything for me. So I was only going to watching this because I thought it would be fun to rip on it.

(Un)fortunately, I actually really enjoyed this. Will I enjoy it for 26 episodes? Maybe. After all, it will it inevitably decay into a mess of teenagers angsting about their love lives for a great portion of that.

That being said, as of episode one I don’t know who I ship (ha!) Manaka with. Tsumugu seems like the obvious choice and I’m leaning towards him but currently he didn’t seem all that interesting. Well, kinda nice and all but not much personality, you know? Hikari’s not that bad either since he at least has some personality but his constant need for Manaka to rely on him and treating her like a child doesn’t really do much for me.

Uroko’s comments about her smell were a little bit creepy, not gonna lie. Well, mostly just awkward. I guess he’s that kind of guy? Though imagine he’ll play the ‘antagonist’ later on and help Manaka live on the surface or whatever? I mean it’s like the Little Mermaid right? So I imagine something like that’ll happen.

The story and lore of the show are pretty nice and the underwater setting is really pretty. Manaka is also cuter than I imagined. I expected her to be practically braindead by the way Hikari described her at the beginning so I was preparing for the worst. Chisaki was OK too though her admitted she liked Hikari made me groan outloud.

And not to mention, Yanagi Nagi! That was one of the other reasons I was watching. The OP is by Ray though, who did the ED for Amnesia while Yanagi Nagi did the OP. I can’t say I’ve listened to Ray that much and she’s not that bad or anything but, well, she’s not Yanagi Nagi tier stuff.

I look forward to seeing how this goes now! Will it get super creepy and awful or will it just become a trite, boring angst-fest between teenagers? Will it maybe expand on the racial tension between sea-dwellers and humans, leading up to the foregoing of the water god’s sacrifice and the possible destruction of the sea dwellers? I don’t know but I’d really like to find out.

Strike the Blood

I wouldn’t have dared touch this if it wasn’t for Kishida Kyoudan doing the opening. Everything about it is something I do not enjoy. Everything. Then again Kishida Kyoudan did the OP for HoTD and that song was rad. And for some reason I even watched HoTD to completion. What was I even thinking back then?

BUT I will give it a little bit of credit. A little bit. I thought everyone being evacuated when they started fighting and monsters having to wear bracelets was cool kinda. The idea of a heavily regulated island for monsters and stuff is kinda neat though I highly doubt we’ll get to see any of the other cool monsters that should inhabit it.

Otherwise, everything else was bland and I kinda wanted to stop watching and do something more exciting for the majority of the episode. The OP was worth it though and it had some interesting scenes in it. I’m really reminded of Index though and… Index isn’t good. Cool action scenes and semi-interesting characters but also too many girl who want the boring, unattractive main character’s dick. Am I will to sludge through tons of boring high school antics for some cool fights and possibly interesting characters? No. Not really.

Outbreak Company

You could ask me, “Fang-tan why do you continue to watch all these shows you have absolutely zero interest in?” because I feel like a broken record at this point. I actually have a few days off just as these shows roll out so why not put my free time to use? You know. Instead of doing something productive and worthwhile. Instead, watching Outbreak Company is a much better idea!

What do we have here. Another light novel full of otaku pandering and wish fulfillment garbage? Surprise surprise.

But you know what? I… I actually enjoyed this. More than I expected I would, anyways. It was better than Strike the Blood at least. Because Kanou, despite being the kind of character I don’t like, was actually a kind of good protag. I wrote him off when he saw Miusel originally and freaked out about her being a maid. But then later he addressed the fact that she might face discrimination because of her race and told her that he loved her race. Furthermore, he then started to teach her how to read. Rather than being a giant pervert who only thinks about himself, he’s actually a nice guy.

And when a character is actually nice and interesting like that? It does a lot for a show. Even if it’s harem trash, you can at least understand why these girls would fall for them.

Miusel is pretty adorable too. I was worried she’d be one big moeblob and she doesn’t really exude personality yet but I really enjoyed her a lot more than I expected I would. I think her character will improve with Kanou around too. Not in the sense that a man is around so she’s immediately resolved of her problems but I think having someone, anyone, that believes in her and likes her for her will help her to become a better person. Which goes back to Kanou not being a completely terrible person. I imagined he would only like her for the tropes she embodied but he spoke to her as a person and treated her as a person. That’s what’ll make Miusel a better and stronger character.

I feel like I’m giving this show too much credit though. I don’t expect it to be amazing and I suspect I’ll roll my eyes at it more often than not. Still, I was impressed by Kanou and it wasn’t as fanservice-y as expected. I’m reminded of the first (and only good) season of Zero no Tsukaima. And I loved the first season of Zero no Tsukaima. Only dif is that Miusel is a million times better than Siesta and I really hope she wins instead of the tsundere loli princess.

Galilei Donna

Pictured: the best girl

Well. Huh. That wasn’t quite what I expected. It was all kinda… weird? Maybe. I dunno. There was just such a carefree attitude about it. It was a bit uneasy when Kazuki and Hazuki were getting attacked but after that it was mostly kinda silly?

But I enjoyed it… for the most part. I don’t look forward to the mecha bits and I was super bored during the two minutes or so before Hozuki showed up. Everything else about I love and think would make for an interesting show. Just that whole bit about mech and their airships fighting was really bleh. That’s just my personal taste though.

Hazuki, though? Best girl. Hands down best girl. You think one of the other two is best girl? Well you’re wrong. Have fun being wrong. You must live in a wrong little house at the intersection of Main St. and Wrong in the town of Incorrect (population: you).

To be honest though waving her and that long haired dude around in my face was so unfair because if nothing else I’ll be watching to see if they eventually do the dirty. It’s been a long time since I’ve fallen for such a ridiculous pair. Of course, I don’t usually like to root for the villain in such cases but you have to admit he’s kind of charismatic even if he’s a bad person. So before I could really root for that, maybe he could redeem himself. Not likely though, eh?

Based on the OP and aforementioned ship, I’d have a lot of high expectations for this show. It seems to for itself, anyways. Unfortunately it’s only 11 episodes and a lot of 11 episode noitaminA shows have been great. It’s just that makes it so much harder to part.

Samurai Flamenco

Again, not what I was expecting. But in a different way than Galilei. I thought this would be more along the lines of Tiger& Bunny but instead we got something much more interesting. I mean don’t get me wrong, T&B is great and all but this has some charm to it too.

It is 22 episodes though so I have to wonder what kind of conflict is going to occur? I can’t imagine anything too serious. Normally I’m very welcome to serious drama in my light hearted show but I don’t know if I’m feeling that here. I was smiling throughout most of this episode. Goto is a much likable guy than I imagined and even Hazama’s cluelessness but completely earnest behaviour was kinda nice.

Hazama actually reminds me a bit of Hajime. While Crowds painted the world becoming heroes and doing good things in a bit of an unrealistic light, it feels like Samurai Flamenco will tackle the dame kinda subject with a teensy bit more realism (the dude is running around in a sentai costume so let’s not get ahead of ourselves here). So when Hazama does manage to change things (like little things like that one punk he seemed to reach and that little girl watching his antics from afar) I feel like it’ll be even more satisfying.